Tints Of Crimson
by aslyta
Summary: AU Thomas M Riddle was born later and into a different world. James lives richly in the midst of politics along with his daughter ,but bodies have been turning up and it's not a pleasant sight. Fem!Harry HP/LV HP/TR


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter :'(

Wings retracted and contracted in an intricate display of power. Music carried itself throughout the elaborate ballroom surrounding the dancing figures. Outside the great hall, the music was but a faint whisper to the wanderers in the gardens.

"You can't catch me, Draco!" a young woman playfully challenged as she raced through the stone pathways, laughing, not caring about her expensive gown. The cultivated flowers shaded away from her as she dashed past them. Smirking Draco cleverly used his pale wings to propel him forward enough to tackle her to the ground as she turned a corner.

"Not so fast are you now, huh, Iris?" Ethan taunted. Then, rolling off of her in concern, as he saw her terrified stare, "Hey, what are you looking at?" It was then he saw what had frozen Iris. Underneath a large willow lay a corpse, looking almost relaxed in its unnerving stillness. Drying blood surrounded the desecrated, carved up carcass of the lost. Long green wings were cut into shatters. As Draco and Iris drew in closer, they noticed the left eye had been carefully gouged out leaving a snowflake like pattern around it. Oddly the man's clothes seemed to be in impeccable condition. Finally, as the realization of what they had stumbled across sunk in, they broke their composure and screamed in terror.

Inside the manor, unaware of the horror unfolding nearby, the festivities continued without interruption. A man seemed to be the product of much admiration as he chatted, standing in a cluster of prominent politicians.

"Now, Thomas, I must confess you have done a wonderful job on the Dephr Bill." Fudge schmoozed and then motioned to the tall man next to him, "Even James himself couldn't have crafted it so masterfully."

"Now, my lord, that really isn't true." Thomas's chocolate hair barely moved a centimeter out of place as he shook his head. As he spoke, a broad man laughed softly at this remark.

"That is a falsehood, my friend" James chided shaking his head. "In your time, you have accomplished more than I ever have." James looks out into the mass of dancers with a somewhat wistful glint in his eye. Thomas catches the look and leans closer to him separating them from the rest of the group.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could talk to you concerning your daughter."

Startled James questioned, "And what do you wish to speak about her?" Thomas smiled bashfully at James.

"Well...I wish to ask you for permission to court Iris." A smile spread across James' face.

"Do you truly?" James pondered and a swift nod followed his words from Thomas. "Well, I wish you luck in courting my daughter then, son." A victorious, haughty look appeared on Thomas' face for only a second leaving James to question whether it was ever there.

"Thank yo-" Thomas was interrupted by the object of their conversation barging into the room looking distraught. This caused the whole room to become silenced in their shock.

"Help! Help!" Iris tried to inform "A body...there is a dead body in the gardens!" Screams of terror were torn from throats. How could this have happened? How did it happen? Who was the poor victim? Who was the _killer_? Passed through all their minds, adding to the chaos that was now the party. Iris was left panting at the door exhausted, emotionally and physically, as her father rushed towards her. James embraced in a hug before leading her out of the room with Thomas' help.

Days later, a pale body thrashed against silk sheets. Sounds of distress echo through the regal room. Terror filled leaf green eyes shoot open as Iris is shocked awake.

"It's just a dream...just a dream...it's not real." Chanted Iris trying to calm down from the nightmare though the sweat it had created still lingered on her flesh. Her bare feet touched the cold wood floor dragging her more into the present. Still shaking Iris forged her robe as she ventured downstairs to the kitchen. The stairs let out a groan and she froze listening for any noise of wakeful humans. Hearing nothing Iris continued through the house. When she reached the empty kitchen she quickly grabbed the lamp near the door and lit it. It's soft glow illuminating the space giving her comfort. She looked out the large window and saw the waxing moon almost to completion. She continued to gaze out at the night sky even when the lamp ran out of oil. She didn't even hear the footsteps nearing the room, so focused was she.

"Iris? Is that you there?" A deep voice asked. Iris was startled and spun around to see who had interrupted her star gazing; her crimson wings fluttering open.

"Oh, Mr. Riddle! I did not notice your presence." She tried to calm her breathing as she responded blushing slightly at being caught by surprise. She noticed how unguarded Thomas' eyes were and how his hair was a mess of tangles from sleep.

Smoothly Thomas spoke, "Really, Mr. Riddle? You can call me Tom, Iris. Though it is a most lovely surprise to have; I had only crawled out of my warm bed for a quick midnight snack and I find you here."

Looking up at Thomas through her lashes she confessed, "I could not get back to sleep." She shivered at the memory of the nightmare. Thomas' quick eyes caught the subtle movements, and moved closer to her.

"I seem to be tried now, though, so I shall be going back to bed, Mr. Riddle"

Thomas watched her leave the kitchen, but just as she was at the door he whispered to her," Tom, Iris, Tom." She did not turn around, and as soon as her head hit the pillows she was in a dreamless sleep.

Another body was found the next day. This time their claws had been removed from their hand and taken somewhere away from the corpse instead of her wings being torn apart. The now known signature, a carved snowflake pattern on the left eye, had remained on the victim. Woman had been found in the exact same location as the first underneath the willow tree.

Draco tried not to look troubled, but Iris knew him too well for that to work.

"Did you hear what Weasel did? He insulted Lord Lestrange's daughter, and she pushed him right into the fountain!" he chatted away as they sat in the otherwise quiet library. Iris tried to pay attention, but her thoughts kept drifting.

"...and the new maid -Ginny, I believe her name is- tripped while holding a pile of plates..."Draco didn't seem to notice, but continued to get his mind off of the horrific happenings surrounding them. Iris sighed at the idle gossip.

Standing abruptly, causing Draco to stop his racing words,  
Iris, "I do believe I shall have leave you to collect the herbs for my mother." Draco looked crestfallen as he watched her leave the room.

Finally being able to actually _do_ something instead of sitting around was a relief for Iris. She quickly gathered a wicker basket and went to go outside. Her father crossed her path in the hallway and stopped her.

"Iris, what are you up to, now?"

Tucking a stray hair behind her ear she replied, "I am to collect the yarrow and other herbs needed." A worried look flashed on her father's face before it returned to its stone like mask.

"Not without a guard, I hope."

Surprised Iris responded, "A guard? Since when have I required a guard to go and fetch herbs?"

A stern look encased James' face. "You have required a guard since there is a _killer_ on the rise, Iris."

"And just who is to be this guard?" She snapped at him, her emerald eyes burning.

A smooth voice joined their conversation. "I would be honored to be Lady Iris' guard, today." Iris jumped and found the speaker behind her.

"Lord- I mean Tom, why do you insist on frightening me?" a teasing light was added to her voice along with a quick smile towards the young man.

"It was never my desire to scare you, Iris." Thomas charmingly smiled at her.

James looked pleased as he interrupted them, "Well, that is settled then. Lord Riddle shall be your guard for you outing." He nodded to himself and then left to continue his work elsewhere.

A golden haze hugged the garden as the couple walked its paths.

"I don't understand why my father has decided I need a guard." Iris complained, "I mean I've been trained enough to know how to fight someone off."

As she bent down to collect a flower Thomas admired the picture it made reasoning, "He is worried never the less about you. You are his only child."

Iris smiled slightly despite her anger, "I just wished he would show he cares for me in more ways than locking me up with constrictions." She exhaled frustrated as she finished filling her basket, and standing up.

"I believe he tries to, but doesn't know how. He talks of you constantly. Did you know?" Thomas questioned as she watched her smooth out her purple gown.

Iris' eyes widened at the information given to her. "Really? I never knew..." The rest of the trip was silent as Iris tried to sort her thoughts. The sight of the doors snapped her back to the world.

Iris then turned to Thomas. "Thank you for being my companion, today." She smiled at him, and turned to leave when Thomas grabbed her looking directly into her eyes.

"The pleasure was all mine, Iris." His face tinted pink and she reluctantly withdrew from the intense gaze.

She could still feel his gaze as she prepared for bed sending tingles up her spine. She closed her eyes thinking about Tom's ruby eyes creasing her skin. The next she felt the sweet scent of chloroform pressing into her face before she passed out.

Iris was cold when she woke. Her skin itched from the grass gently digging into her. Hard silver chains kept her from moving from the willow. Her sight was slowly adjusting to the surroundings as she tried to figure out where she was. Shadows sifted with the soft breeze ruffling the foliage. The full moon hangs in the clear sky above. Candles were set in a pattern of a snowflake. Bowls of mysterious substances occasionally took the place of the flames. The sound of feet against the stone path brought Iris' eyes upward. A man. A man covered a blood red shirt and pitch black pants swaggered his way to the snowflake pattern. The combination of the soft light from the moon and candles light up his face as he drew near. The air seemed to leave Iris's lungs as she gasped for air.

"T-Tom! It was _you_?" She stuttered struggling to get free of her constraints.

He preened as he looked at his work. "Why of course it was me, dear. Did you know of someone else who could have brought this plan to life? Who could have made all the preparations together to become immortal? To have true power?" Thomas questioned her as she glared up into his deceivingly handsome face.

"That's why you murdered those people? To gain power!" Iris snarled giving up at fighting the chains around her.

"The world is split up into two types, Iris. Those who have power and those who are too weak to seek it." The moon continued its journey as they had conversed, now nearly in its highest position. "The moon is almost in place. It's time to start." Thomas caressed her face gently before retreating from her fangs longing in his eyes. He then took his place across from her in the ritual. After, cutting his hand with a plain looking dagger and squeezing the dripping blood into a crystal bowl in the very center of the snowflake. Iris wondered what the ritual would do to her and how she could stop it as a strange language sang out of Tom's mouth. The tune was strangely calming to her lulling her into a daze. She struggled against the magic trying to take her hostage crying out soundlessly for help. The last thing she saw that night was the glowing of the two draken bodies still alive.

Thomas felt the power flow through his veins as he finished the ritual. Warm traitorous tears fell from his eyes as he looked at Iris. Her spirit. Her fire. Her will was his now. She would live as long as he himself did. That was plan all along; a life endlessly with her.


End file.
